Type of ball cock



Nov. 24, 1964 H. BACHLI ETAL 3,158,173

TYPE oF BALL COCK Nov. 24, 1964 H, BACI-n.: ETAL TYPE oF BALL cocx 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed sept. 19, 1961 Nov. 24, 1964 H. BACI-Ll ETAL TYPE OF BALI.. COCK 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 19, 1961 United States Patent O 3,158,173 TYPE F BALL @GSK Herman Bachii, Chicago, and Eugene E. Shapiro, Shokie, lll., assignors to Chicago Specialty Manufacturing Co., Chicago, lli., a corporation of Iliinois Filed Sept. 19, B61, Ser. No. 369,157 il Slaim. (Cl. IS7- 414) This invention relates to a new and improved type of ball cock. I

One of the objects of this invention is to provide 1mproved means for controlling the flow of the water supply to the ilush tank in relling the tank so that water to the tank will be shut off during the flushing operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved type of ball cock wherein the operation of the ball cock has a delayed action, such that the valve permitting the flow of water into the iiush tank will not operate to open until the water level in the tank and the float has dropped to a prescribed extent, so that during the flushing operation the valve will be closed to shut oi the flow of water to the tank, thereby eliminating the waste of water inherent in constructions where water is supplied to the flush tank during iiushing operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a ball cock with a delayed action which will not close the valve to shut off the full water liow until the water level and float have risen to the prescribed extent.

I Another object of this invention is to provide a ball cock having a delayed action valve and a water pressure responsive diaphragm which operates silent-ly, which parts will not get out o order and wherein servicing and replacement is reduced to a minimum.

Another object of this invention is to provide a ball cock in which there is a predetermined freedom of movement of the tioat relative to the valve, thereby delaying the operation of the valve for controlling the water until the water level in the tank and the iioat have reached prescribed limits.

Another object or this invention is to provide means for adjusting and regulating the shut-ofi and the on positions.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view partly in section, showing the application of this invention in a ilush tank;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view takenon lines 2-2 of FIG- URE l, showing in particular the ball cock of this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional View taken. on lines 3"-3V ofl FIGURE 2, showing the parts in shut-ofi position;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view taken on lines fl-d of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a view taken on lines 5--5 of FIG- URE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional View similar to FIGURE 3, but with the parts in on position, allowing the water to ow into the flush tank;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional View taken on lines 7--7 oi FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a diagrammatic view showing the uppermost position of the iloat, with the parts in shut-oil position;

FIGURE 9 is a diagrammatic view showing the iioat in its lowered position, with the parts in shut-oli position and just prior to operation of the parts to open position;

FIGURE 10 is a diagrammatic view showing the iioat in its lowermost position, with the parts in open position for the iilling of the ilush tank; and

ICC

FIGURE 11 is a diagrammatic view showing the oat in its upward movement, with the parts in open position and just prior to operating the parts to shut-ott position.

The conventional flush tank 10 is provided at the bottom thereof with the conventional discharge pipe 12 communicating with the toilet bowl 14. The overilow pipe 16 communicates as at 13 with the discharge pipe 12. A flush ball Ztl is adapted to seat on the ilush valve seat 22 and said flush ball is manually lifted by means of a trip lever handle -24 operating a trip lever 26 connected to a wire link 27, in turn connected to rod 2S which is connected tothe hush ball 20. The rod 28 is guided by guide arm 3Q mounted on the overflow pipe 16@ All of the foregoing is conventional.

The bottom of the flush tank l0 is also provided with an opening 32 which through suitable fittings 34 supports a water inlet pipe 36 which is connectedy exteriorly of the iiush tank to the conventional water supply pipe 33. As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 6, the top of the inlet pipe 36 is internally threaded as at 37 to receive anl externally threaded renewable seat 38 which extends above the top` of the water inlet pipe 36.

Also secured to the top of the water inlet pipe 36 is, a housing generally designated at il which is formed preferably of two sections. The lower section 42 has a central bottom portion 43 having a depending extension 4.4. The extension has` a central tubular portion 45 which has a press t engagement with the top of the water inlet pipe 36 for locking engagement therewith. The depending extension 44 is also provided with four equally .spaced discharge outlets 46 exterior-ly of the circumference of the central tubular portion 45. The lower sec-` tion 42 of the housing has an internal annular ledge or seat 4S abovethe bottom portion 43 and an annular wall Si? extending upwardly thereof from which extend laterally triangularly shaped ears S2.

A tube 53 is press iitted to the depending extension 44 and said tube extends arioundy the water inlet pipe 3,6k and terminates near the bottom of the tank, asL best shown yin FIG. 1 to communicate with the interior of the ush tank.

The upper section 54 of the housing 40. includes a dome-shaped body 56, the lower` por-tion57 of which. telescopes within the lower section 42 and clamps between it and the lower section l2 an annular diaphragm S8, made preferably of nylon, and a resilient washer 60. The diaphragm rests on the annular ledge or seat 48 and extends across the internal diameter of the. lowersection 42 and over the Water inlet pipe 36 and renewable seat 38, as well as over the four discharge outlets 426 of the lower-section. The diaphragm 58 is provided with a central opening 59.

The upper section Sd of the housing 40 is provided with laterally extending triangularly sliapediears-62` identical to the ears 52 of ythe lower section and all said ears have cooperating bolts-64 for holding thetwo sections 42 and 54 together and for retaining the diaphragm Sti in position. The two sections form a chamber above the diaphragm designated by the numeral 63 anda smaller chamber 65 below the. diaphragm.

which communicates with the upper chamber 63. The passageway 68 is for the discharge of the water above the diaphragm 5S. The passageway 63 communicates with a lateral passage 76 (FIG. 7) in the upper section,

which supports a short tubular extension 72V to which is threaded bores engaged by 'threaded amarre 3 secured a tube 73 leading to the overow pipe 16. The tube 73 is the refill tube.

The upper section 54 of the housing 46 has an opening 74 communicating with the passageway 63, which opening supports a plunger 76, the lower end of which has a valve 77 on which an O ring 78 is positioned. The valve 77 serves to close the opening into passageway 68 from the chamber 63. The plunger 76 is operated by means of a rocker arm and float, to be described..

Extending upwardly of the upper section dis a pair of spaced ears 86, having alined transverse openings to receive a pin 82 on which is pivotally supported the rocker farm S4'. One end of the rocker arm is enlarged to provide a boss S5 which has a transverse opeing S6 which is received on the pin S2. The pin 82 is retained in place by a head at one end and a cotterr pin at the other end. The rocker arm 84 has an elongated slot 3S through which the plunger 76 extends. A pair of spring Washers 89 and 96 is secured to the plunger on the Opposite sides of the rocker arm so that a pivotal movement of the rocker arm will through engagement with the spring washers move the plunger to the up and shutott position shown in FIG. 3, or to the down and open position shown in FIG. 6. A The forward end of the rocker arm 84 terminates in a substantially U-shaped member 91 having spaced legs 92 and 93 forming stops for the pivotal movement of the tioat rod, to be described. The lower leg 92 of member 91 inclines downwardly. The upper leg 93 and the lower leg 92 each have a threaded opening to each support a threaded adjusting screw designated at 94 and 9d which permits adjustment to limit the pivotal movement of the float rod.

Pivotally secured to the member 9i is a clevis 95 which supports lthe float rod 96. The opposite sides of the clevis 95 are positioned adjacent the vertical section 97 of the U-shaped member 91 and a cross-pin 9% passing through alined openings in the opposite sides ot the clevis 95 and the section 97 of member 9i pivotally secures the clevis 95 to member 9i.. The forward end of clevis 95 extends between the legs 92-93 of the U-shaped member 91 and same has a threaded opening to receive the threaded end 96 of the iloat rod 96. The other end of the oat rod supports a hollow oat 166, made preferably of polyethylene material and having an opening M92 closed by a removal plug 104. The float lltil may be weighted to desired extent by iilling with water through the opening 102, suliicient to break valve seal 77. The valve 77 is a delayed action valve and is held in closed position by the water supply pressure, hence the water weighted float 190 breaks the seal of valve 77.

It will be seen that there is a pivotal movement between the lloat rod 96 with the float 166 thereon as one element and the rocker arm S4 as the other element and that the pivotal movement is adjustable, thus the oat 16) moves, for example, downward to a considerable extent when the iiush tank I0 is emptying before the iioat rod 96 operates'the rocker arm 84 to in turn operate the plunger '76 and unseat the valve 77 to allow the Water to flow into the flush tank for refilling same, and conversely the lloat rod 96 will on the upw-ard movement of the lloat and the reiill of the ilush tank, pivot with respect to the rocker arm S4 and will not operate the rocker arm until the water level is at the point where the shut-off takes place.

The operation of the device will now be described.

Whenthe Water level in the flush tank is high and the float is in the position shown in FIG. S, the parts will be as indicated in full lines in FIG. 3, and also in FIG. 8. The plunger Valve 77 will be seated on the valve seat 67, as shown. The chamber 63 will be lled with water as water enters the chamber through the inlet pipe 36 and the diaphragm opening 59. With the plunger valve 77 closed the water lis trappe-d in the chamber 63 above the diaphragm.

The water pressure is hydrostatically equalized on both sides of the diaphragm 58 and this maintains the diaphragm 58 in Contact with the top of the renewable seat 3S to close oiiE the upper end of the outlet pipe 36, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, to shut ott the entrance of Water from the inlet pipe 36. Until such time that the plunger 76 is depressed this condition prevails. However, when the toilet is being iiushed, as when the tiush ball 2t) is lifted and the water discharged from the tank into the discharge pipe l2, the float 160 will descend in the tank with the level of the water. While the float descends it will not, however, due to the pivotal connection of the iioat rod 96 with the rocker arm 84, operate to depress the plunger 76.

As seen in FIG. 9, the oat lili) has descended without operating or depressing the plunger 76 to unseat valve 77, thus the water from the inlet pipe 36 is shut off and no water is owing into the flush tank for refilling same. FIG. 9 shows the lowermost position of the float before it moves to actuate the plunger valve to open position, as in FIG. 10. Thus, the plunger will remain as in FIG. 3, shutting off the llow of water into the flush tank 10 until such time that the float 106 has pivoted the oat rod 96 to where it engages the lower adjusting screw 94', at which time it rst pivots the rocker arm 84 to in turn cause the plunger 76 and valve 77 thereon to move down, as shown in FIG. 6, to unseat the valve 77.

With the unseating of the valve 77, the Water in the chamber 63 heretofore trapped will enter the passage 68 and iiow through the lateral passage 76, tubular extension 72, pipe '73, and into the overtlow pipe i6, thereby reducing the pressure on the top side of the diaphragm 58 and with the greater pressure against the bottom of the diaphragm, the diaphragm 58 will be lifted, permitting the intlow of water through the inlet pipe 36.

The diaphragm 5S is a metering valve. The area under the diaphragm across the seat 3S is greater than the area of the metering opening 59 which permits the diaphragm to push up and unseat from the seat 38 and allows most of the water to enter chamber 65 below the diaphragm and pass into the four discharge outlets 46 and down the outer tube 53 into the llush tank 10 relling same. A small amount of the water will pass through diaphragm opening 59 into chamber 63, which subsequently passes through pipe 73 into overflow pipe 16. This operation continues as long as the plunger valve 77 remains unseated, as in FIG. 6.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the extent of travel or movement of the float without operating the plunger to unseat the plunger valve 77. During this period of tiushing operation the shut-off to the flush tank is complete and no water is supplied to the flush tank from the water supply pipe 36. Thus, a saving of water is eiected as no water is supplied into the flush tank during ilushing. However, as soon as the level of water and the iloat 100 drops below that shown in FIG. 9, it will operate the rocker arm 84 to depress the plunger 76 and unseat the valve 77, as shown in FIGS. 6 and l0. FIG. l() shows the lowerrnost limit of the lioat with the valve 77 open.

The reiilling of the flush tank causes the float 100 to rise, however, it will not actuate the plunger 76 due to the pivotal connection, until the float rod 96 has been moved into engagement with the upper adjusting screw 94. At the time the upward movement of the float rod 96 will pivot the rocker arm 84 on pin S2 upwardly to move the plunger 76 upward, seating plunger valve 77 to close entrance to passage 68 and trap the water in the chamber 63 so that the pressure in the chamber 63 maintains the diaphragm 58 in the position shown in FIG. 3, shutting oit the ow of water into the flush tank 10, as heretofore described. The cycle of operation is repeated.

In the upward movement of the float during the relling of the ilush tank, the valve 77 is still in open position at the level shown in FIG. 1l, however, as the float moves `about that level shown it will operate to close the valve 77. It will be seen that while the valve 77 is open (FIG. 6) and the flush tank is being refilled, the water is also flowing from chamber 63 into passageway 68,

E :.2 pasage 70 and pipe 73 into overflow pipe 16. The adjusting screws 94, 94 permit adjustment and regulation of the shut-off and opening of the water supply, thus the timing of the shut-off and on may be regulated.

With this construction very little pressure is needed to operate the diaphragm, therefore, the diaphragm may be made very thin and it will have a long life. The parts will not require servicing. Furthermore, the Operation is almost silent and economies are eected by a saving in water.

It will be understood that various changes and modiications may be made from the foregoing without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

Control means for a flush tank, comprising a water inlet pipe, a chamber communicating with the inlet pipe, a rst outlet from said chamber communicating with the ush tank, a diaphragm supported in said chamber above said first outlet for closing said irst outlet, an upper chamber above said diaphragm, said diaphragm having an opening permitting the passage of water from the inlet pipe to said upper chamber when said diaphragm has closed said rst outlet, a depending portion extending into said upper chamber and providing a rst communicating passageway with said upper chamber, a lateral 25 passage communicating with said rst communicating passageway and forming a second outlet, a plunger extending into said first communicating passageway for vertical movement, valve means on said plunger wholly within said upper chamber for closingk the entrance to said rst communicating passageway, means for operating said valve means so that the water in the upper chamber discharges through said second outlet and reduces the hydrostatic pressure on said diaphragm and allows said diaphragm to move to open said first outlet and permit water from the inlet pipe to pass through said rst outlet, and an arm extending above the top of said upper chamber and having a first lost-motion connection with said plunger, float means having a pivotal second lost? motion connection with said arm for operating said arm and providing the sole means for moving said plunger vertically in either an upward or downward movement, said rst and second lost-motion connections permitting the valve to remain in its extreme position until the second lost-motion connection has been moved to its upper or lower position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Arbogast Jan. 14, 1941 2,895,707 Bailey July 21, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 17,344 Great Britain Sept. 15, 1893 102,794 Sweden Gct. 14, 1941 122,123 Sweden June 29, 1948 153,027 Australia Aug. 31, 1953 519,147

Canada Dec'. 6, 1955 

